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 Howard A Treesong wrote:
Pension schemes should be better protected or state run. Again and again companies collapse and there's nothing left in the pension fund while the previous owner has a fleet of yachts.

Well, the state - via us - are picking up the tab for the BHS scheme.

A change in law is needed but the problem of deficits in pensions is large enough that legislation to see owners and investors liable for pension pots and spending would cause a mini financial meltdown - I could see investors and owners bailing on even big names.

Actually I wonder how many of our top 100 companies have a pension deficit which accounts for a large proportion of debt.....

A quick google search finds BT, Royal Dutch Shell with large deficits and at the time the article in the FT was written BAE and IAG (airline) have liabilities '.....nearly double (more than 180 per cent) the size of their market cap...'

BP
Tesco
Astra Zenica
Unilever
RBS (2014)
GKN
GSK

All have billions of deficits in their pension schemes.

From a Daily Express article
'.....14 FTSE 250 companies disclosing pension liabilities greater than their equity market value....'

Theres at least £81billion of deficit in UK based businesses.

Frightening!

 welshhoppo wrote:
Ah, don't remind me of the internet. It was about as useful as a chocolate teaspoon.

"Can you order this item?"

"Nope. Its menswear and we can't order menswear in. We have no stock control."

"This light is available on your website. Can I order it in?"

"Nope, the internet and the item ordering system are two differnt systems, you have to go home and order it."

"Can I order this dress?"

"Yes you can! It will take fifteen minutes because the system requires every single detail about yourself, and it's the same system we use for credit cards."

When I read that, I hear the voices of Cap'n Peacock, Mr. Humphries and Ms. Slocombe...

 JohnHwangDD wrote:


When I read that, I hear the voices of Cap'n Peacock, Mr. Humphries and Ms. Slocombe...

You jest, but some of the BHS stores still have the same decor, uniforms and equipment.

 zedmeister wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
When I read that, I hear the voices of Cap'n Peacock, Mr. Humphries and Ms. Slocombe...

You jest, but some of the BHS stores still have the same decor, uniforms and equipment.

Indeed.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:

 zedmeister wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
When I read that, I hear the voices of Cap'n Peacock, Mr. Humphries and Ms. Slocombe...

You jest, but some of the BHS stores still have the same decor, uniforms and equipment.

Indeed.

No way.

That tech is way too modern.

There was a piece about BHS collapse on the BBC 'One show' last night.

Asking randoms who they thought was to blame for the collapse.

A young shop girl piped up. 'I worked there two years ago and the stock they have out is the stock they had then!'

Well, if it didn't sell first time round....

Regarding pension funds, there are some large companies like British Airways whose pension fund is so massive it has been described as a pension fund with a nice little airline subsidiary.

The fundamental point is that if a large company runs for decades with thousands of employees paying into its fund, either by deduction from their salary or by deferring a larger salary and the company paying in for them, and if the fund is handled with average competence of investment and actuarial functions, and if no-one raids it for cash like Robert Maxwell did, then over the long term the fund will grow to massive proportions.

It's rare that pension funds actually are handled incompetently, and cases like BHS or MIrror Group happen because the company management feth it up by taking a "payment holiday" or by dipping their fingers in the till. The problem for a long while was that the pension fund legally remains part of the company assets, though morally and ethically belonging to the would-be pensioners.

I count myself fortunate that I started a private pension fairly early, and I had the luck to belong to the very good Sony defined contribution scheme for 17 years, so I've piled up a significant amount of money which all belongs to me and can't be ripped off by anyone.

Of course the government is cheating all of us whatever pension scheme we may be in if any.

Last week my friend was told this was happening. However the next day they were told they weren't being made redundant. The following day they were told their branch had been bought over by another company.

IIRC she's being told she'll be redundant again now. This, having gone to work for BHS after her last department store liquidated itself.

Her work is in the fashionable crazy cat lady department, as she describes it. Which I guess tells you about the clientele (she does work in St. Andrews > read town filled with rich old people/ rich students who have 12 ponies).

 Silent Puffin? wrote:

 Mr. Burning wrote:

If you have a granny or went to town with your old nan and grampie you have definitely been in one!

Not in Scotland, the nearest equivalents when I was growing up was a Woolworth's and a House of Frazer.

There are several BHS stores in Scotland.

In most big cities and on the edge of Edinburgh

 Medium of Death wrote:

 Silent Puffin? wrote:

 Mr. Burning wrote:

If you have a granny or went to town with your old nan and grampie you have definitely been in one!

Not in Scotland, the nearest equivalents when I was growing up was a Woolworth's and a House of Frazer.

There are several BHS stores in Scotland.

In most big cities and on the edge of Edinburgh

Yeah, it reminds me of a hilarious conversation I had with a Scottish worker when getting an item transferred because she couldn't understand my Welsh accent and I couldn't understand hers.

 welshhoppo wrote:

 Medium of Death wrote:

 Silent Puffin? wrote:

 Mr. Burning wrote:

If you have a granny or went to town with your old nan and grampie you have definitely been in one!

Not in Scotland, the nearest equivalents when I was growing up was a Woolworth's and a House of Frazer.

There are several BHS stores in Scotland.

In most big cities and on the edge of Edinburgh

Yeah, it reminds me of a hilarious conversation I had with a Scottish worker when getting an item transferred because she couldn't understand my Welsh accent and I couldn't understand hers.

BHS problems just keep mounting!!!